UK Shop Price Deflation Doubles In September

(RTTNews) - The annual fall in UK shop prices doubled in September on big discounts and fierce competition, data from the British Retail Consortium showed on Tuesday.

The shop price index dropped 0.6 percent on a yearly basis, following a 0.3 percent drop in the previous month. This was below the 3-month average rate of -0.3 percent. Shop price annual growth was at its lowest rate since August 2021.

Non-food remained in deflation at -2.1 percent in September, further down from -1.5 percent in August. Meanwhile, food inflation picked up to 2.3 percent from 2.0 percent.

Fresh food inflation accelerated to 1.5 percent from 1.0 percent, while ambient food inflation decelerated to 3.3 percent from 3.4 percent.

"Easing price inflation will certainly be welcomed by consumers, but ongoing geopolitical tensions, climate change, and government-imposed regulatory costs could all reverse this trend," BRC Chief Executive Helen Dickinson said.